When fishing all day with a trolling motor, it is important not to deplete the battery source below the level necessary to either keep fishing and/or return to dock. A way of monitoring the battery condition is essential to not spoil an otherwise successful fishing trip. A battery monitor, of which there are several solutions on the market, can solve this problem. However, the battery monitor must be so convenient, automatic, and intuitive that the fisherman will never fail to know the battery condition.
The problem with existing battery monitors on trolling motors is that they do not alert the fisherman about battery condition until the fisherman pushes a button to activate the report. By the time he remembers to check the battery condition it may be too late. In addition, current battery condition reports are made via displays that the fisherman cannot readily see unless given direct attention. Existing battery monitors utilize predetermined voltage threshold levels when determining when to notify a user of a low battery level. However, these systems do not take into account specific battery characteristics, that may be unique to certain types of batteries, or certain voltage levels of batteries. For example, many trolling motor systems are capable of utilizing batteries of various voltage levels, or batteries made up of different materials, such that utilizing predetermined voltage threshold levels will not accurately and efficiently assist a user in determining when that particular battery is low. In the case of utilizing batteries of different voltage levels, a predetermined voltage threshold level as an indicator of low battery will indicate a low battery level for very different percentages of total battery life for each of the different batteries. In the case of batteries utilizing different materials, these batteries have very different discharge rates, and therefore having a predetermined voltage threshold level is not an effective way to notify a user.